The Responsible One
by Twisted Truth
Summary: Shane and Jason are cool, but what about the third member of Connect 3, Nate? He has his fair share of issues and troubles. One-Shot. R&R please.


Disclaimer: Not mine.

Enjoy.

* * *

Nate's POV

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Welcome to the summer camp for migraines, otherwise known as my head. Sometimes, being the responsible one sucks. If it weren't for the two irresponsible ones, I wouldn't be having so much trouble. Not to say I don't love my band mates, their like my brothers, but why can't they see past their own lives? I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but really. All Jason's talked about for weeks is a birdhouse, and Shane's so caught up in his own drama that he doesn't notice anything else. Really, I'm surprised I haven't had a stroke or something. I mean, that's what happens to people under a lot of stress, right? Anyway, on top of band issues, my parents are getting a divorce, but no one's asked about it so I won't volunteer anything to them. I mean, who cares that their fighting for custody of me and if my dad wins I'll have to quit the band and move with him to Italy. Certainly no one here at Camp Rock. This place is also adding to my stress. Sure, I have fun memories here, but this is also where I met the girl who broke my heart… I don't want to even think about that. sigh I think I'll go for a walk. It is really pretty around here.

So Nate walked away from the cabin Shane and Jason were talking in and went into the small forest. Sadly he didn't make it very far before being spotted by some fan girls and having to run to avoid getting mobbed. In the mood he was in that could be dangerous for everyone. After about five minutes of running, Nate finally managed to lose them. He looked behind him to double check and then all went black as he ran into a tree.

Back at Camp

"Hey, Shane?" Jason yelled into the bathroom where the other boy was currently taking a shower.

"What?" Came the slightly irritated reply. Shane had just started shampooing.

"Do you know where Nate is? I can't find him anywhere."

"He probably went for a walk or something."

"Well, I wanted to ask him if he would help you build my birdhouse." Jason stated innocently.

Shane sighed, "For the last time Jason, I'm not building you a birdhouse!"

"Humph. Well where is he?"

Shane finished washing shampoo out of his hair and forwent conditioner in order to get out sooner, "I don't know Jason."

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, "He should be here. I though he wanted to talk to us about the band."

Shane stepped out of the bathroom in a towel, "He probably got lost, they planted more trees around here and the forest is bigger now."

Jason eyes widened comically. "Then we have to find him!" he yelled.

Shane barely had time to pull on some clothes before Jason was dragging him out of the cabin and into the woods in search of their lost "brother."

"JASON!! Wait, I haven't straightened my hair," Shane yelled as he was dragged along.

"Nate could be lost and alone and scared and hurt. We have to find him!" Jason replied.

Shane sighed and allowed himself to be lead by the extremely worried air headed boy. They searched for twenty minutes with no success. This caused Shane to begin to worry as well. The further from the cabin they got, the more worried they became. It had begun to get dark when Shane heard Jason shout at him.

"SHANE! I found him!"

Immediately Shane ran to them. When he saw the smallest member of their band, he was shocked. Nate lay on the ground at the foot of a rather large tree. He was sprawled out and obviously unconscious. The most worrying thing though, was the dried blood on his forehead and matting his hair.

"Jason," Shane started, trying to remain calm, "I need you to run back to camp and tell Brown what's happened. Then bring help, okay."

Jason nodded, too shocked to speak, and took off towards camp. When the sound of Jason's running faded away, Shane carefully knelt down next to the fallen boy. Shakily, he reached out and felt for a pulse in his neck. Shane nearly wept when he found it.

"Nate?" Shane called softly.

No response.

Shane tried again a little bit louder, "Nate?"

Still nothing.

"NATE?" Shane all but yelled, trying to get a response.

Nate groaned and turned his head, only to groan again at the pain, but he didn't wake up.

Shane sat there in the dirt for a few minutes longer, holding back tears. He started when he heard people approaching. He turned and saw, Jason had returned with his Uncle Brown and the camp nurse.

Immediately the nurse began to examine Nate while asking questions Shane was sad to say he couldn't answer. Then again, Jason didn't know either. Luckily, Brown had made it his business to know all about the other members of his nephew's band incase something happened. For several long moments, the men held their breaths, praying for the health of their youngest friend. Finally, the nurse finished her check.

"Well, boys," she began. "It seems your friend is just fine. He's got a cut on his forehead, probably from hitting a tree branch. That bled a lot but is ultimately harmless. As for why he's still unconscious, I'd say it's more exhaustion than anything. I suggest you let him sleep it off and bring him by my office tomorrow morning after breakfast. For now, just get him to bed." The nurse then gathered her supplies and walked calmly away.

Before either teen could respond, Brown stepped forward and gathered the small teen in his arms. "You all heard the woman. Back to your cabin. I think we could all use the rest now."

Back in Shane's cabin, Nate was laid on one of the spare beds. As the nurse had washed and bandaged his head, all Brown did was take off the boys shoes and tuck him under the covers. Once done with that task, he turned to his amazingly silent nephew and Jason, "I believe it is past lights out, so to bed the both of you."

Reluctantly, both Shane and Jason crawled into their respective beds and Brown left them to try to sleep himself. However, while the Connect Three cabin was silent, only one of its occupants was asleep. The other two were too worried to even try.

Late in the night, after Jason and Shane had unwillingly fallen asleep, Nate started tossing and turning. He whimpered, listening to all the people he loves tell him what a screw-up he is. The nightmare voices got louder and Nate began shouting denials, waking his band mates. Immediately, both older boys were at his side trying to wake him. When he finally woke after five more minutes of terror, he shied away from his friends. Jason refused to allow that. He gathered the small boy in his arms and refused to let go.

"I've got you, Nate," he said calmly. "No one can hurt you if I've got you. They'd have to go through me."

Shane chuckled softly, "And even if they got through BirdBoy here, they'd have to deal with me, too."

Jason harrumphed and held tighter to the still sobbing boy, "They wouldn't be able to get through me. I know karate."

"Going to one lesson when you were six does not mean you know karate," Shane replied.

Jason pouted, "I went to two lessons and I was seven, so there."

"That still doesn't mean you know karate," Shane argued.

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn-"

Their arguing was interrupted by soft laughter making them both look down. Nate, though still clinging to Jason, was laughing. Shane grinned at Jason. Jason looked confused.

"What's so funny?" the ditz asked This caused Nate to laugh harder. Shane grinned and placed a hand on Nate's back. Nate reached up and wiped his eyes before sitting up.

He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Would you guys ever forget me? Or hate me for leaving if it wasn't my choice?"

Shane looked shocked and opened his mouth to reply, but Jason beat him to it.

"Well, I know I would never hate you, and I wouldn't want to forget you. But if I got hit in the head and forgot, then there would really be nothing I could do about it."

Shane looked at Jason incredulously for a moment before smacking him upside the head. He then turned to Nate who didn't know what to think about Jason's comment. "Don't pay attention to him. We could never forget you Nate. And Jason was right about one thing. We could never hate you either. Is that what your nightmare was about?"

Nate just nodded.

"What brought this on?" Shane asked.

"Well," Nate started, "My parents are getting divorced."

"Oh no," Jason exclaimed. "Wait, what?"

Nate sighed, "My parents are getting divorced. They haven't decided who's going to get custody of me."

Shane's eyebrows drew together, "You said something about having to move…"

Nate nodded, "My father got an offer to head a production studio in Italy. If he gets custody, I'll have to move with him."

Jason looked horrified, "But what about us?"

Nate sighed again, "I guess I'll have to quit."

"No," Shane shook his head, "You won't quit. You're almost sixteen, you should be able to decide who you get to stay with. Just tell your parents who you want to stay. If they take it to court, tell the judge who you want to stay with."

Nate looked at his two closest friends, "I don't want to hurt my father, though. I love him."

"Tell him your reasons. He'll understand," Shane suggested.

Nate gave a watery smile, "When did you get so smart?"

Jason smiled, "I told you I was smart."

Nate rolled his eyes, "Yes you did Jason."

Jason's smile widened, "What's going on?"

Shane shook his head, "Nothing we can't take care of Jase."

"Okay," Jason was silent for a moment before, "GROUP HUG!!"

After a long hug from Jason, Shane pulled away.

"Hey Nate, why did we find you unconscious in the woods?" he asked. Jason looked at Nate as well.

Nate blushed, "I was running from fan girls and when I turned back to see if they were gone I ran into a tree."

Shane and Jason busted up laughing.

I can't believe Shane was so calm about my parents divorce. He didn't pity me at all. Then again, I guess I should have expected it. He doesn't pity anyone. Jason's response was to be expected. He really is an airhead. I did tell my parents how I felt, like Shane suggested. They were really cool. My dad agreed that I can stay with my mom and still be in the band as long as I go see him at least twice a year. That's cool. The band is doing better now as well. Shane lost his bad boy image and attitude and Jason built his own birdhouse. Camp Rock ended on a happy note for everyone. I really can't wait to record with Peggy. She's awesome. I think I may have a crush on her.

THUMP-thump. THUMP-thump. THUMP-thump.

Oh yeah, my migraines are gone.

The End

* * *

Love? Hate? Let me know. Review please.


End file.
